Monarch butterflies have brightly colored orange wings with black patterns on them, making them easily visible to birds that eat butterflies and moths, yet birds rarely eat the monarchs. Likewise, the monarch caterpillars are brightly striped yellow and white and black, and they also are rarely eaten by birds, although some wasps will attack them and feed them to their young. What can be inferred from these observations?

Question

Melissa Wang

Biology

8 November, 10:46

Monarch butterflies have brightly colored orange wings with black patterns on them, making them easily visible to birds that eat butterflies and moths, yet birds rarely eat the monarchs. Likewise, the monarch caterpillars are brightly striped yellow and white and black, and they also are rarely eaten by birds, although some wasps will attack them and feed them to their young. What can be inferred from these observations?

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Answers (1)

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Terrell Bradley · Answer 1

The bright color of butterflies is a discouraging factor for its prey

Explanation:

Butterflies and caterpillars are easily visible to its prey but still they do not eat any of them. This can be because of two factors -

a) The bright color of these organisms might be a factor that makes them uninteresting (intending to be tasteless etc.) for their prey

b) The bright color might be a signal to the bird indicating in advance of any harm associated with the butterflies/caterpillar feeding.

Hence, instead the Monarch butterflies have brightly colored orange wings with black patterns on them, making them easily visible to birds, the birds rarely eat the monarchs